Wolfe has new look

By Helen Eriksen |
August 21, 2012

Skylights are used throughout the new Wolfe Elementary to conserve energy including the ceiling skylight above the stairway to the second floor. Grades K-2 are on the first floor and grades 3-5 are on the second floor. Suzanne Rehak/For the Chronicle

Students attending Wolfe Elementary School in Katy Independent School District will see some big changes when they return on Aug. 27 to a sleek, two-story structure built around an energy theme.

District chief architect and planner Peter McElwain said the project to rebuild the school, at 502 Addicks-Howell Road, was on a tight schedule.

John Hackstedt, a superintendent with the contractor Tellepsen Builders, said construction began in August 2011 and crews began demolishing the old school just before classes ended in May, he said.

The school, which serves an attendance zone that includes the Fleetwood, Memorial Thicket and Barkers Landing neighborhoods, is built to serve 500 students, less than half the population of the typical KISD elementary school, McElwain said. It also represents the first of its kind in the district with students in grades K-2 housed downstairs while those in the upper grades will attend classes on the second level.

"The desire to save as much green space as possible, led to the two-story design," McElwain said.

Keeping in character with the neighborhood, McElwain said the building fits in with architectural style reflected in the Energy Corridor. The project architect is Houston-based PBK Architects, and the $17 million project is funded from a $459.7 million bond authorized by voters in 2010.

McElwain said a key difference with the new facility is the addition of flexible learning spaces which can be configured for a variety of collaborative, educational purposes.

Calling the structure a high-performance building with an optimum learning environment, McElwain said Wolfe is a testament to the district's commitment to efficiency in design and function.

"It's a beautiful, modern facility with a contemporary design," McElwain said.

The facility has big windows, open space and is decorated in bright primary colors. In addition to classrooms, offices and workrooms, the school has a cafetorium, library, science lab and collaboration areas with smart boards for each grade level.

Contemporary lighting sconces are installed throughout the facility and each hallway is decorated in a different color to represent various forms of energy.

McElwain said the Wolfe community and district staff were involved in the design planning process and people were so excited about the project that the district moved the construction schedule forward by a year.

Wolfe parent Steve Shurn, who served on a district planning committee to rebuild Wolfe, said everyone is embracing the new school.

"They have done a very good job in meeting the community's needs and if you look at the school from a building standpoint, it is very appealing," said Shurn, whose son, Vincent, is in third grade at Wolfe.

Shurn and his wife, Tammy Shurn, who is the school's PTA president, recently toured the school with Principal Scott Wagner.

Wagner said parents and students are eager to see the replacement campus, which was built while the old campus was fenced off for safety precautions.

"The older kids are very excited because of the upstairs and all of the unique features," Wagner said. "They are going to love it."

District officials say they do not anticipate any additional safety issues with the two-story model. There are built-in safety features such as staircases with rounded edges.

McElwain said the school is built to national standards called Collaborative for High Performance Schools, which takes a long-term, comprehensive approach to increasing energy efficiency, reducing water consumption and lowering maintenance costs.

The library, which has a skylight and large windows, is a vivid example of what the architects have done with the rest of the campus, McElwain said.

"We are using a lot of natural light to reduce electricity costs," McElwain said. "There will be occupancy sensors to turn the lights off when no one is in the room."

Wolfe Elementary, built in 1969, is the second-oldest elementary campus in the district. The 2006 school bond included an allocation for a new roof, but district officials determined it was a better long-term option to replace the entire school because there were other major systematic problems such as the mechanical and plumbing components.

Components of the old facility, however, were preserved to honor the heritage of the school.

"We saved some of the bricks from the old school, which will be used to engrave donor names in the circular seating area outside of the library," Hackstedt said.

School district spokesman Steve Stanford said a dedication ceremony is scheduled at Wolfe 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9.